Combined foot and bedcover support



Oct. 20, 1953 w, NELSON 2,655,668

COMBINED FOOT AND BEDCOVER SUPPORT Filed May 14. 1952 Fig. 3

INVENTOR Warren L Nelson f ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 20, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to combined foot and bedcover supports for hospital beds and the like.

In beds for sick people, particularly those with foot or leg injuries, it oftentimes becomes desirable to provide, crosswise of the bed, a support member which may be adjusted longitudinally of the bed to satisfy the particular needs of the patient. For example, the patient may have the support member adjusted to touch the soles of his feet so as to offer resistance to the outward thrust of his legs and thereby provide exercise to the injured foot or limb. Or it may be' adjusted to support the foot or leg above the general level of the bed. It may also support the bedclothes away from the injury, a feature which may be particularly desirable and necessary with painful injuries. Such support of the bedcovers also provides better access to and-better conditions for medication of the injury.

For maximum value such support should be extremely simple in construction and operation so that it may be installed and adjusted by a single individual and without theneed for mechanical aptitude or training. It should also be adjustable for utilization of the full length of the bedwithout interference with or obstruction to other movable parts ofthe bed. When not in use, itshould be easily removable from the bed and capable of being stored as a compact out of the way unit.

Pursuant to the present invention, these and other desirable features have been achieved in a combined foot and bedcover support for beds of the type having side rails' of angular cross sectional-construction with a downwardly extending portion by providing generally a bracket with upwardly extending supports at the downwardly extending portion of each'ofthe side rails, and across 'thebed, a'foot and bedcover support member with its ends held by the upwardly extending supports so as to permit motion in only a vertical direction; I

By providing the bracket with a two sided channel section with the sides projecting upwardly and straddling the downwardly projecting portion of the side rail, an extremely simple and inexpensive clamping and guiding arrange merit for bracket adjustment is made possible as well as one. which in no way interfereswith adjustment of the bedspring in adjustable hospital beds. thesimple expedient of providing thumb or other manually operable screws in one of the sides of the channel section and directed inwardly against the downwardly extending portion of the bed rail. 1

The clamping arrangement is achieved by By turning the screws in the proper direction, the downwardly extending portion of the bed rail is thereby clamped tightly against the other side of the channel section.

By rigidly attaching to the one side of the channel section a pair of substantially parallel members in spaced relation to each other a simple bracket construction is achieved for giving lateral support to the foot and bedcover support member without impairing its vertical freedom of movement. Such vertical freedom of movement permits both easy insertion and removal of the footand bedcover support member without need for tampering in any way with the bracket setting. It also achieves automatic adaptability of the foot andbedcover supportmember to adjustments of the bed spring to various reclining positions as are possible and cus tomary in hospital beds.

By making the other'side of the channel section a little shorter than the downwardly projecting' p'ortion of the bed rail a guiding relation is thereby established between these members for permitting easy adjustment of the channel section along the rail without changing the perpendicular relation of the upwardly projecting sup port members to the bed rail. 'By making the foot and bedcover support member witha plain surface having an edge of substahtially'uniform thickness such that it may fit between the sides of the channel section a compact construction for storage is achieved. For storage with this construction requires only the unscrewingof the hand operable screws in the oneside of the channel and clamping the bracket over the edge of the foot and'bedcover support member in manner similar'tothat usedin clamp ing to the bed rail. All the componentsare thereby held firmlyitogether for compact, easy Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the arrangement in,

Figql and having additionally a cross, section of the bedcoverin position. I

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of the bracket Also the channel section provides a handling of the assembly in my invention shown clamped to the downwardly extending portion of the bed rail which appears in cross section in this view.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged front view of the bracket and section of bed rail in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a front view of the brackets clamped to the foot and bedcover support to form a compact unit for storage.

Fig. 6 is a side view of a portion of the foot and bedcover support and a, bracket shown in: Fig; 5.

Referring to the drawings in more detail, a bed, designated generally by the numeral I0 (Figs. 1, 2), may be a conventional type hospital bed having bed rails I2 of angular cross sectional. construction with a downwardly projecting portion I3 as normally used in such beds and running lengthwise of the bed It). Resting. on the bed rails I2 is a conventional, multisection hospital bed spring I4 supporting a mattress ili aml. pillow I8 which may be suitably covered with bed: linen in: conventional, manner. As customary in hospital beds of this type, cranks I9 are. provided to operate through. a; lever and linkage structure (not shown) to." raise and lower selected members of. bed spring; sections? I4 to permit reclining or other desirable positions for a patient occupant. For proper operation of the, bed., there: must be no obstruction to the movements of the. bed spring; sections I4- and their lexer and linkage system.

Attachedto. thebed. rail I2 at each. side of the lad W is a bracket '28. of. a. channel section 22, a. pair of legs 24 and thumb or other manually operable. screws. 26.. For proper guide: relation betweenthe bed rail I2 md'the bracket 2&. channel, section 22 has. its inner plate or side- 28 (Figs. 3, 6). slightly shorter than the downwardly extending portion of the bed rail I2 so that the bottom ofv thechannel section-.22 rides along, the. bottom edge, (Fig. 3) of. the dovirrrwairdlyextending portion- I3 of thebed rail I2; The thumb screws 28 have threadedstems 32r en aging: threaded holes. in the outside plain orside 314' of. the channel section. 22-. The axeso! these holes are substantially perpendicular to the 34 so that by; turning; the screws 26 the free ends ofthe threaded stems 32 may be. forced against. one side of the downwardly extending portion I3 ofthe=bed rail I2 and cause.

it in be held firmly betweenv the plate or side 28.

and the threaded stems 32-.

It will'be. noted that in; this clanrpecla small space exists between the downwardly extending portion. I53. 015 the.- bed rail I2 and the plate or side or the channel section 22. This space. at the. portion of. the channel section adjacent the end segment. 33,.which fixes the. bed rait to. ti'mec'upright member at. the foot of the bed fl, is preferably of sufllcient width to clear the. end segment 38 and thereby permit movement of the bracket mto theextreme foot of the-bed.

The legs 24 may be separate members rigidly flad-tothe channel section 22' as by welds While the legs. 24 are shownin the drawings as located substantially centrally of the channel section 22-, it may-in some. instances. be dmirableto place them oil center. For example, the legs 24 may be offset on the channelsection 22 in the direction of the foot of the bed to thereby still further increase the amount of bed length available fora patient occupant. Such a construction might be desirable where the patient occupant is'too tall for the occupied bed.

The legs 24 are so placed and attached that when the bottom of the channel section 22 rides Each bracketlIl-comists 4 along the bottom edge 30 of the downwardly extending portion I3 of the bed rail I2, the legs 24 will extend upwardly in substantial parallel and spaced relation to each other so as to form with the channel section 22 a U-shaped member with a rectangular or slot opening 36 (Figs. 4, '5). Fitted in the rectangular opening 36 of each of the brackets 20 attached to the bed I0 is the respective end of a foot and bedcover support member 38c The foot and; bedcover support member 38 may be made of a light rigid material as wood, and is preferably flat and fitted at its ends to slide vertically in the slot opening 36 in bracket 20. The central portion of the foot and bedcover support member 38 is preferably thicker than cover support member 38' is preferably of sum-- cient; height to cause its upper edge to extendabove the legs 24- of. brackets 28' to provide suit"- able support to a blanket or other bed cover'u (Fig. 1). Therbed cover 41 supported by thefoot andbedcover support: member 38 and brackets 28- will. thereby belifted away from the feet and other lower extremities of a patient occupant in the bed I0.

By the; very simplerprocedurc of loosening the thumb screws-.23 andsl-iding the brackets 21 along the bed; rails I2, the foot and bedcover support member. 38 maybe. adiusted'to any'position'along the bed to, suit the particular desires and needsof the patient. Such a high degree. of desirable. simplicity is achieved imthis; operation, that the adjustment may easily be made by a single indiv-idnal without special mechanical aptitude or training. Also,v since the screws are the only working parts. there is virtually nothing in the device to malfunction, or get. out of order. As

clearly seen in Fig. 3, no'portion or the bracket.

26 projects over or onto the upper portion of the I2- or into. the lever'and linkage system imderneatlr the bed... The bracket- 2'0, therefor...

in no way interferes with the proper seating 01 the bed spring elements I4 onto the bed rails I2 so that: all of the bed spring elementsmay lie flat and evenly in the normal use position of the bnd; It; will be noted that side 34 of the channel section 22 and the legs 24, by their construction clear'the; sidm. of the bed I8so as to provide no obstruction to up and down movement of the bed spring sections I4. By clearing the sides of the bed III, the construction of the brackets 20 issuch that the mattress may be moved and mattress ooversand bed-linens may be changed without the necessity of. first removing or otherwise tampering with the adiustment of the brackets 20. Furthermore. with the vertical sliding arrangement of the foot and bedcover support member 38in the slot. opening 36, adjustment of the spring elements I4 may be made to suit the patient. without removing the brackets 28 or foot and bedcover support member 38. If, for example, a bed spring section I4 beneath the foot and bedcover support member 38 is raised, the foot and bedcover support member 38 will likewise rise with that portion of the mattress I8 on which it rests. In rising in this manner the foot and bedcover support member 38 merely slides in the slot openings 36. It will nevertheless be held in position by the legs 24 and may continue to be used in this new raised position if desired.

When not in use, the entire foot and bedcover support arrangement may be very simply removed from the bed In and stored as a desirably compact, space conserving unit. To remove the foot and bedcover support member 38, it is simply lifted out of the slot opening 36 until it clears the legs 24. The brackets '20 may then be removed by merely loosening the thumb screws 26, whereupon the force of gravity alone will cause the brackets 20 to fall away from the bed l0, so that the channel section 22 is disengaged from the downwardly extending portion l3 of the bed rail [2.

To form a compact unit for storage, the brackets 20 are then mounted on the foot and bedcover support member 38. The channel sections 22 are made to straddle the ends of the foot and bedcover support member 38 in manner similar to its straddling the downwardly extending portion l3 of the bed rail [2. Then by means of the thumb screws 25, the brackets 20 are rigidly fixed to the ends of the foot and bedcover support member as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. This compact combination may then be conveniently stored in a minimum of space. In this compact arrangement, the bracket 20 which is made preferably of such relatively hard and durable material as steel or aluminum also provides physical protection to the foot and bedcover support member 38. Such protection is desirable particularly against chipping and other damage which might otherwise result from abusive and rough treatment during transporting and storing of the assembly.

This invention is not limited to the particular details disclosed as equivalents will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. I therefore intend that my invention be limited only by the appended claims which are to be given a broad interpretation commensurate with the scope of the invention within the art.

What I claim is:

l. A foot and bedcover support for a bed of the type having angular cross sectional bed rail construction with a downwardly extending portion along each of the two sides of the bed, comprising a two sided channel section for positioning at each of the bed rails with the channel sides disposed upwardly to straddle the downwardly extending portion of the bed rail and to make guiding contact therewith, screw means in one of the sides of each channel section disposed to clamp said downwardly extending portion of the bed rail and the other side of the channel section together, a pair of substantially parallel upwardly extending legs for each channel section rigidly fixed at one end to said one side of each channel section and in spaced relation to each other, and a footboard member of rectangular cross section for placement across said bed and with its ends in said spaces between the upwardly extending legs, the thickness of said footboard member being of a dimension permitting mounting thereon the two sided channel sections in manner similar to mounting on the bed rails to thereby provide a compact unit for storage.

2. In combination, a bed having two ends and two sides; a segmented adjustable bed spring; a mattress on said bed spring; a rail with angular cross sectional construction at each of said two sides and having horizontally and downwardly extending portions, said downwardly extending portion being at the extreme sides of the bed and said horizontal portion extending inwardly of the bed and providing support for said bed springs; a bracket attached to each of the bed rails, said bracket comprising a two legged channel section with the legs directed upwardly and straddling said downwardly extending portion of the bed rail, the inner of said legs having a height such that the downwardly extending portion of the bed rail makes guiding contact with the channel section, hand operable screws in the outer of said legs disposed inwardly to clamp said inner leg and downwardly extending portion together, and a pair of substantially parallel members rigidly fixed at their lower ends to said outer leg and extending upwardly in spaced relation to each other beyond the side of the bed and above said mattress; and a vertically disposed foot and bedcover support member across said bed and with its ends supported in the space between and in vertically slidable engagement with the respective pairs of parallel members, the thickness of said foot and bedcover support member being of a dimension permitting mounting thereon the two said legged channel sections in manner similar to mounting on said bed rails to thereby provide a compact unit for storage.

WARREN L. NELSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 755,699 Robertson Mar. 29, 1904 998,996 Swenson et a1 July 25, 1911 2,300,898 Allen Nov. 3, 1942 2,547,942 Hinton Apr. 10, 1951 

